Harrow.



' PATENTED'MAY 5, 1903.-

1,. w. COMPTON.

HARROW. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16, 1903.

N0 MODEL. I

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y 9 M I I 1 e/ hforga ys a: Nonms PETERS co. vumouma. wlsumamr n. c,

UNITED STATES Patented May 5, 1903.

PATENT OFFiCE.

HARROW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 727,092, dated May 5,1903. Application filed January 15, 1903- Serial No. 139,170. (No model.)

To all whmn it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, LUN W. COMPTON, a citi zen of the United States, residing at Alexandria, in the county of Dekalb and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Harrow, of which'the following is a specification.

This invention relates to'harrows of that class in whicha plurality of barrow-bars are provided with downward-extending teeth,

the said harrow-bars being flexibly connected with each other and also connected with an adjusting or equalizing bar spanning the barrow longitudinally and serving by the aid of a lever and suitable connections to adjust the barrow-bars at various angles, so as to enable them to operate successfully upon various kinds of soil.

My invention has for its object to produce a harrow of this class which shall possess superior advantages in point of simplicity,durability, and general efficiency; and with these ends in view it consists in the improved construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 i a top plan view of a harrow constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a similar section showing the harrow-bars adjusted at a different inclination from that illustrated in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail plan view on a larger scale, illustrating one of the barrow-bars and parts of the adjacent link connections. Fig. 5 is a sectional detail view taken on the line 5 5 in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a perspective detail view of the end of one of the connecting-links.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated by similar characters of reference.

In the construction of 'my improved harrow any desirednumber of toothed bars may be employed. In the appended drawings I have shown'four such bars, of which the front bar is designated 1, the rear bar at, and the Each of these intermediate bars 2 and 3.

respective bearings.

are in alinement the teeth of the several bars shall be out of alinement, the arrangement being such that the teeth of the several bars shall not be permitted to follow in the tracks of each other, the obvious purpose of this ar-- rangement being to cause the soil to be thoroughly stirred, agitated, and pulverized by the action of the harrow.

Each of the harrow-bars is provided with bearings 6 for the reception of the connecting-rods or link-bars 7 and 12. These bearings are disposed at the lower front edges of each except the front harrow-bar and at the upper rear edges of each except the rear harrow'bar. These bearings are composed of transversely-bored tubular boxes 8,'having laterally-extended flanges 9 provided with perforations 11, through which fasteningscrews 10 may be inserted into the harrowbeams. The connecting-links are composed of rods 12, provided at their ends with angular extensions 13, having vertical perforations 14; to receive cotter-pins or split pins 15, by means of which they may be retained in their The hearings or boxes 8 are provided with lubricating-openings 16.

The construction and arrangement of the connecting-links, which have just been described is an important feature of my invention, inasmuch as while lateral movement of theharrow-bars relatively to each other is absolutely prevented, yet the individual bars are permitted to vibrate freely upon the pintles or bearings formed by thearms 13 of the link-rods 12. It is'obvious that the several bearings are to be made as tight and as snug as possible without interfering with the free individual vibration of the bars, which I consider of great'importance not onlyin disintegrating the soil, but alsoinjpreventing to a \largeext'ent the adhesion of the soil to the harrow-teeth'in the event of the soil being more or less damp when operated upon.

pivotally mounted a lever 20, the lower end of which is curved forwardly and is connected pivotally with the arms of a yoke 21, extending rearwardly from the rear side of the rear barrow-bar at a point even with the upper edge of the latter. The -adjustimg-lever 20, which is provided with a handle 22, also has a plurality of transverse perforations 23, any one of which may be connected by an adjusting-link 24 with a bearing 25, suitably disposed upon the upper side of the spanningbar. By this means the adjusting-lever may be placed at any'desired inclination for the purpose of adjusting the tilt of the harrowbars.

The front barrow-bar is provided at its front edge with forwardly-extending hooks 26 for the attachment of the draft. Similar hooks 27 may be attached to the upper edge of the rear barrow-bar.

It will be seen from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto annexed, that the spanning-bar or adjusting-bar is not supported upon but above the barrow-bars, so that each of the latter, including the front and rear barrow-bar, shall be capable of vibrating freely, while at the same time each of the said barrow-bars by the peculiar construction of the connecting-links and the boxes for the same shall be positively prevented from lateral movement with rela tion to each other. Being thus held against lateral movement, it follows that it will be impossible for the teeth of the rear harrowbars to track or trail the teeth of the forward barrow-bars, and consequently the soil will be thoroughly and efiectively broken up by the teeth,which,as hereinbefore described,are carefully arranged in diderent longitudinal planes. In drag-barrows as ordinarily constructed the teeth are usually staggered; but the loose connection between the barrow-bars, which have ordinarily been simply connected by links or chains, has been a fruitful cause of the teeth tracking or trailing each other, to the detriment of the efficient performance of the work. Now it will be seen that by my improved construction the adjusting-bar is supported at its front end by the yoke 18 a short distance above the front barrow-bar, while the rear end of the adj usting-bar is supported by the lever 20 and yoke 21, likewise a short distance above the rear barrow-bar, so that the vibration of said harrow-bars will not be interfered with. The draft is usually attached to the lower front edge of the front barrow-bar, and the draft is transmitted from the upper rear edge of each barrow-bar except the rear one to the lower front edge of the one next in rear. The tendency of the draft will thus be to tilt the points of the teeth forwardly, thus causing them to exercise a plowing and breaking action upon the soil. The adj usting-lever maybe utilized to set the teeth at any desired inclination. Should the teeth of the harrow become obstructed by Weeds, roots, or other trash, the

upper end of the adjusting-lever is thrown in a rearward direction as far as it will go, and the barrow-teeth will thus be permitted to swing rearwardly, so as to be automatically freed from all adhering trash. If the soil is soft and mellow and a dragging instead of a plowing action is desired, this is best attained, after setting the teeth at the desired inclination, by attaching the draft to the hooks 27 at the upper edge of the rear barrow-bar.

I have in the foregoing described the preferred construction of my invention; but I desire it to be understood that I do not limit myself with regard to the structural details, but reserve the right to any changes, alterations, and modifications which may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention or sacrificing the utility of the same.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. A harrow comprising a plurality of toothed bars linked together, the front harrow-bar being provided with an upward-extending yoke and the rear barrow-bar being provided with a rearward-extending yoke, an adjusting-bar having its front end mounted pivotally in the yoke of the front bar, above and out of contact with the latter, a slot in the said adjusting-bar near its rear end, an adjusting-lever fulcrumed in said slot and having a forwardly-curved lower end connected pivotally with the yoke extending rearwardly from the rear barrow-bar and thereby supporting the spanning-bar above and out of contact with the rear barrow-bar, and means for securing the said lever at various points of adjustment.

2. In a harrow, a plurality of toothed bars linked together, in combination with an adjusting-bar connected flexibly with, and supported above the front and rear barrow-bars, and an adjusting-lever connected pivotally with said adjusting-bar and with a yoke extending from one of the barrow-bars.

3. In a drag-barrow, a plurality of toothed bars, in combination with connecting means comprising transversely-bored boxes having laterally-extending perforated flanges suitably connected with said harrow-bars, linkrods having laterally-extending perforated arms engaging said boxes, and pins engaging the perforations in said arms.

4:. In a harrow, a plurality of toothed bars, transversely-bored boxes connected with said bars, link-rods connecting said bars and having hinge connection with said boxes, and means for retaining the link-rods in engagement with said boxes,thereby permitting the barrow-bars to vibrate freely, individually, but preventing said harrow-bars from lateral movement with relation to each other.

5. In a harrow, a plurality of toothed-bars, transversely-bored boxes secured to said bars and link-rods having hinge connection with said boxes whereby the barrow-bars are permitted to vibrate freely, individually, but are In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

LUN W. COMPTON.

prevented from lateral movement with relal tion to each other, in combination with an adjusting-bar supported by and above the front and rear barrow-bars, and connecting means between said adjusting-bar and one of the barrow-bars whereby the latter may be adjusted.

Witnesses:

CLARENCE D. BAIRD, T. W. J ONES. 

